Building Mental Health Resilience in Climate-Stressed Communities: A Large-Scale Evaluation of a Low-Cost, Culturally Adapted Intervention Model for Rural Northwest Nigeria

Background Northwest Nigeria faces severe climate-induced stressors, exacerbating the population's vulnerability to poor mental health. Scalable, culturally relevant interventions are urgently needed to build mental health resilience in these resource-constrained settings. Methods A community-based, quasi-experimental study was conducted with a sample of 20,000 participants from 120 rural communities. Communities were assigned to receive a low-cost, multi-component intervention (n = 10,000) or serve as wait-list controls (n = 10,000). The intervention integrated psychoeducation, structured peer-support groups, and culturally adapted stress management techniques delivered by trained local facilitators. Primary outcomes were measured using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC-10) and the WHO-5 Well-being Index. Data were collected at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up. Results A significant time-by-group interaction was observed. The intervention group demonstrated a substantial increase in mean resilience scores (baseline: 21.4 ± 4.2; post-intervention: 29.8 ± 3.9; p < 0.001) and well-being scores (baseline: 48.3 ± 12.1; post-intervention: 65.7 ± 10.8; p < 0.001), with effects sustained at 6-month follow-up. Control group scores showed minimal change. The intervention was effective across gender, age, and occupational subgroups. Conclusion This large-scale study demonstrates that a low-cost, culturally adapted, community-delivered intervention is highly effective in building mental health resilience in populations affected by climate stress. The model presents a viable blueprint for scalable public mental health programming in rural, low-resource contexts across Africa and beyond.